Granted, I’ll admit my bias in this case favors the fans over the owners…probably since I am (as well as probably the rest of us here) in the majority of those who are paying between $20-60 a pop to attend games…so, I know they have reasons not to change the current status quo as well. In all honesty, while I might deep down believe that a change toward more parity in the game is inevitable, I’m not sure when it might eventually happen — or what form it will take.

As far as post-season sports are concerned, I guess I was just trying to point out the issues which all these different games have in regard to weather conditions and such (whether hot or cold). I think it’s then fair to assume that, whether it’s either heat, cold, precipitation, or even relative humidity…baseball, football, hockey, or soccer all have their own sets of variables to deal with in regard to playing late in the season. The only major sport that seems to have avoided most of this is basketball — since it’s both played out of the elements and on a solid surface. (And yet, not to be at all snarky, but the rumor which used to go around about Ray Allen wearing a extra thermal layer while with the Sonics was that he felt the floor at the Key was always “cold” — which is probably because the wooden surface for the Sonics’ home games back then was laid over the ice for the T-Birds home games!)

In any event, I’m glad we’ve at least been able to enjoy an intelligent discourse about this. As a bunch of us mentioned in Derek’s thread re some of the new users, it’s the level of the discussion here that I think we all appreciate — and which keeps USSM a cut above the rest.

Just a shout back on this…I know there are some fans that get turned off at the prospect of 16 out of 30 teams in the league being eligible for the post-season (i.e. the whole perception that “everybody makes the playoffs”)…but that being said, you still have to win the games or you won’t get in.

Scott19,

I understand what you are talking about from the fan perspective. And, not being a hockey fan, I’m not sure that I can disagree. However my point was more looking at the ownership side.

Funny you should mention that, too (and a fair argument against), since just the opposite effect has come into play in a few instances during the Stanley Cup Finals. When the LA Kings (’93), Florida Panthers (’96) and Dallas Stars (’99-’00) made the Finals in their respective years, they found themselves playing home games in late-May/early-June in cities where the outside temperature was 80 degrees or hotter.

Again, Baseball and Hockey are very different games. The idea that one facility may not have managed their facility well enough to maintain the proper temp, while probably affecting the hockey game/series, has nothing to do with how Mother Nature happens to affect outdoor arenas of whatever sort.

The difference between outdoor parks and indoor stadia cannot be simplified with air conditioning and/or refrigeration.

Just a shout back on this…I know there are some fans that get turned off at the prospect of 16 out of 30 teams in the league being eligible for the post-season (i.e. the whole perception that “everybody makes the playoffs”)…but that being said, you still have to win the games or you won’t get in. (Being a hockey fan as well, i’m thinking of the Canucks a couple of years back in ’07-’08 when they went 39-33-10 on the season yet failed to make the playoffs because they still finished 10th in the Western Conference.) While there’d definitely be both pros and cons in moving to such a playoff format, it seems to be working out fairly well in all the other sports — and you do see at least see more of the “cusp” teams from tough divisions as well as “small market” teams getting to the post-season (case in point, the Indy Colts).

Fair enough. But what about the cold factor effect on the game itself? Remember, the cold has an effect on how the ball and bat work together too. As does moisture in the air, heavier fall winds, slickness of the field (yes, I know the grounds crew can limit this, but they can’t do so much that they totally negate it) and, of course, snow outs.

Funny you should mention that, too (and a fair argument against), since just the opposite effect has come into play in a few instances during the Stanley Cup Finals. When the LA Kings (’93), Florida Panthers (’96) and Dallas Stars (’99-’00) made the Finals in their respective years, they found themselves playing home games in late-May/early-June in cities where the outside temperature was 80 degrees or hotter. Thus, in each of these series, there were complaints among some players of the ice being too soft or “slushy” as compared to conditions earlier in the season — and this despite a “climate-controlled” environment of air-conditioned arenas and a refrigerated surface!

And, of course, we haven’t even discussed some of the Packers’ epic “Frozen Tundra” post-season games at Lambeau Field now, have we?

Yup.

I really feel sorry for fans of the Jays (16 years no postseason), Rays (at least they’ll always have 2008), and Orioles (12 years)

The Orioles have sucked for a decade because their owner hired one terrible GM after another and their farm system was essentially barren for an insanely long time. The Blue Jays seem to shift philosophy from year to year. Before Friedman, it was almost like the Rays’ GM was trying to field the worst team possible.

I have no doubt that the Yankees have a significant advantage, but I think it’s also true that the arbitration clock acts as a something of an equalizer, or at least it allows good teams who can manage their talent well to compete in certain windows. Sure the Yankees will compete year and year out, and that makes the game less interesting, but I have a hard time believing they are killing baseball.

Actually, yeah…why not go back to the original 154-game schedule? (Or, maybe even a bit shorter, say, 148.) By shaving at least a week or so off of the current schedule, you’d be able to start the playoffs in late-September

While I, personally, love that idea, the owners might not see it quite that way. What with the whole “money out of their pockets” thing and all.

Though the extra playoff round would certainly appeal to the teams that get there, the teams that don’t are still paying their players for 8 games or more than they are getting out of them. (Until all current contracts expire that is)

And as far as the “cold factor” is concerned in the post-season, I think devoted fans that want to see their team win a
championship will show up regardless.

Fair enough. But what about the cold factor effect on the game itself? Remember, the cold has an effect on how the ball and bat work together too. As does moisture in the air, heavier fall winds, slickness of the field (yes, I know the grounds crew can limit this, but they can’t do so much that they totally negate it) and, of course, snow outs.

This is why (and I know I’ll probably get flamed for it from somebody here) I’m all for expanding the playoff format to those of the other major sports.

I’m not going to “flame” you, but I do have a question: You have stated that there are 8 teams (4 from the AL and 4 from the NL) in the MLB playoffs. How exactly would you expand this system that would make sense?

I don’t have the numbers to prove it, but they are out there. Find ‘em yourself.

Um, I think it might be normal around these parts to bring your own proof. We can’t be expected to do your homework for you, can we?

Would you shorten the regular season to accommodate the extra round of playoffs?

Actually, yeah…why not go back to the original 154-game schedule? (Or, maybe even a bit shorter, say, 148.) By shaving at least a week or so off of the current schedule, you’d be able to start the playoffs in late-September…then maybe bunch the post-season rounds closer together like they were when the championship rounds started in the late-60′s/early-70′s. All those unnecessary non-travel “off” days that the networks seemed to have inserted in the post-season schedules these days have gotten completely ridiculous…I mean, if you’re going to take a month or more to play the post-season anyway, you might as well run it out to four rounds and let more teams in to generate some additional revenue.

And as far as the “cold factor” is concerned in the post-season, I think devoted fans that want to see their team win a championship will show up regardless. They certainly did for the Rox in Denver a few weeks ago — and they just about had to plow snow off the field to get those games in.

re the Yankees, I really feel sorry for fans of the Jays (16 years no postseason), Rays (at least they’ll always have 2008), and Orioles (12 years). They might make it a year or two when they put together a good team, but then it will be a couple of decades before they can get back to the playoffs.

This is why (and I know I’ll probably get flamed for it from somebody here) I’m all for expanding the playoff format to those of the other major sports. While I understand the argument that “the season should be worth something,” at the same time, in MLB, each league plays the most amount of regular-season games (162) for the least amount of available playoff spots (4) — compared to the NFL at 16 and NBA/NHL at 82 each. Granted, so-called “dynasty teams” are a given in professional sports…and, as such, their presence will never be entirely eliminated. However, I believe increasing the number of wild card spots might go a lot further toward promoting parity amongst teams than a salary cap would…since certain teams in tough divisions –like the Jays, for example — might have more of an incentive to stay in the race during a decent season knowing they still might have a shot at a WC spot rather than to just throw up the white flag in the middle of July.

BTW, today’s food for thought: Not that it would’ve ultimately helped much against the Yanks this year, but the M’s would’ve gotten into the playoffs as a #7 seed in a “Best-8″ format.